Morning everyone. The controversial Kyle and Jackie O show is being listened to by a large proportion of children, 2024 ratings figures suggest. Guardian Australia monitored the show for two weeks, documenting language that teen psychologists and women’s safety advocates say is dehumanising and harmful.
In other news, the Kremlin says Ukraine’s use of US ballistic missiles to strike targets in Russia means the west is trying to escalate the war, the gender pay gap is a shocking 25%, and the Bee Gees’ Australian drummer has died. Plus: the Socceroos play Bahrain.
Australia
Walkley win | Guardian Australia has claimed an award for innovation at the 69th annual Walkley awards with a story by a team of six showcasing text messages exchanged between Palestinian friends – one in Gaza, one in the US – in the opening days of the Israel-Gaza war.
Pay gap persists | Female chief executives are paid an average of $170,000 less than their male counterparts – a gender pay gap of 25% – according to government figures released today.
Paris ‘working’ | The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, has declared the landmark Paris agreement is “working” as it had brought the world back from “the brink of catastrophic 4C warming”, but argued countries must set the most ambitious emissions targets possible for 2035 to limit worsening global heating.
Cyber warning | Cybercriminals are using fake QR codes or sophisticated artificial intelligence scams to trick Australians into giving up their private details or downloading dangerous files, the nation’s signals intelligence agency has warned, as fraudsters take advantage of the technology’s popularity.
Bee Gee dies | Colin Petersen, a Queenslander who was the original drummer for Bee Gees, has died aged 78. By a strange quirk, the drummer who played with the band in their 70s pomp, Dennis Bryon, has also died in the past week.
World
Missile strike | Ukraine fired six US-made Atacms missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region (pictured), Moscow claims, in what would be the first use of the weapons on Russian territory since the Biden administration lifted restrictions.
Trump adjournment | Donald Trump’s scheduled 26 November sentencing in his Manhattan criminal hush-money case has been adjourned, but prosecutors are fighting its dismissal. Also, reports say the president-elect thinks senators will not endorse his choice of Matt Gaetz as attorney general.
Farm ‘betrayal’ | British farmers say they have been “betrayed” by the government’s budget changes to inheritance tax for agricultural properties as hundreds travelled to London to lobby their local MPs.
‘Macho’ society | Gisèle Pelicot, who was drugged by her husband and allegedly raped by dozens of men he invited into her bedroom for more than a decade, has told a court that “macho” society must change its attitude on rape.
‘We’re horrified’ | A newborn baby girl will have to go through life with the wrong sex on her birth certificate after a registrar’s error, which her parents have been told they cannot change.
Full Story
Big spending: the politics of Australian electoral reform
Our chief political correspondent Paul Karp speaks to Reged Ahmed about why Labor and the Coalition have been accused of cooking up a ‘secret deal’ on new electoral rules.
In-depth
KiiS FM, the radio station that is home to the graphic and at times derisive Kyle and Jackie O show, this year attracted the biggest share of listeners aged 10 to 17, Guardian Australia can reveal. That is more than 200,000 children and teenagers listening to the station in Sydney alone. But despite children being exposed to inappropriate material on the station’s top-rating show, the Australian Communications and Media Authority has failed to launch its own investigation into the program.
Not the news
This week’s supermarket taste test is on kombucha. Jess Ho, who says a good one should have an even and gentle effervescence from the secondary fermentation, scored the varieties on aroma, flavour, texture and drinkability. Find out which one came out on top.
Sport
Cricket | With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at stake as India return to Australia, we take a look at the tourists who could play a major hand in the series, from Rishabh Pant to Akash Deep.
World Cup 2026 | The Socceroos couldn’t afford any more slip-ups in their qualifying match in Bahrain this morning. Follow the action as it happened here.
Athletics | Tatyana Tomashova of Russia has been stripped of her medal in the 2012 women’s Olympic 1500m final on retrospective doping offences – the fifth athlete to be disqualified in the race seen as one of the dirtiest in history.
Tennis | Roger Federer has published a long letter paying tribute to great rival Rafael Nadal ahead of the Spaniard’s retirement, saying: “Your old friend is always cheering for you.”
Media roundup
Three private schools have a combined $400m worth of building projects in the pipeline, the Sydney Morning Herald claims. The Herald Sun remembers Pixie Skase, the well-known socialite and wife of businessman Christopher Skase who has died aged 83. Tasmania’s premier has escaped a no-confidence motion after a change of heart by Labor, the Mercury reports. Dog owners in Geelong are being urged to keep their pets on the leash this summer amid a rise in snake sightings, the Advertiser says.
What’s happening today
Economy | WGEA embargoed release of national gender pay gap.
Canberra | AMWU/Lock the Gate: Turning down the gas report launch at 8am.
Music | Aria awards at 5pm.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
